How pen design and flooring choices affect the welfare of pigs in commercial production.
Pig pen design represents one of the highest-leverage engineering welfare interventions available to producers, as physical environment determines the baseline welfare conditions for all pigs within a system throughout their productive lives. The evidence that slatted concrete flooring causes foot and leg problems affecting the majority of housed pigs demonstrates that the standard production design imposes systematic welfare costs that partial rubber mat provision and modified slat design can substantially reduce. The economic case for welfare-positive pen design is increasingly favorable as the production benefits of reduced lameness and improved feed efficiency are quantified alongside welfare improvements.